Few artists can lay claim to the legacy of jazz harp like Brandee Younger. The New York-based harpist has spent the past decade channeling the spiritual ambience and soulful melodies of her instrumental forebears Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby on her acclaimed albums for Impulse! “Somewhere Different” and “Brand New Life”, while her collaborations with artists as varied as Pharoah Sanders and Beyoncé have spread the sound of her melismatic lines through a range of genres.

On her latest album, “Gadabout Season”, Younger gets closer than ever to the jazz harp lineage, namely by recording the entirety of its 10 tracks on Alice Coltrane’s own harp. “I first had the chance to play on the harp at a memorial concert in 2017 and it was astounding to be so close to the instrument that was so influential to her,” Younger says from her Harlem apartment. “By 2024, the harp had been restored and I was chosen to be its custodian. That meant I had time to sit and practise with it and by the time it came to recording “Gadabout Season”, I was so at one with the instrument, it felt like an extension of me.”

While 2023’s “Brand New Life” reinterpreted Dorothy Ashby’s work and 2021’s Impulse! debut “Somewhere Different” was comprised of original compositions that Younger describes as “mirroring a live show”, “Gadabout Season” marks a new milestone in her writing process. “The album has more of a narrative woven throughout it, since it was written like a series of diary entries,” she explains. “It’s the first time I’ve written with that intention and as a result, it plays in such a way that you should be able to feel the intent of my diary without being able to read the words.”

The ensuing 10 tracks of the album certainly play with fierce emotional intent. There is the frenetic melodic plucking and intricate drumming of “Breaking Point”, evoking a state of anxiousness, while the meditative flute playing of Shabaka feature “End Means” delivers an atmosphere of pensive self-reflection, the luscious glissandi of “New Pinnacle” brings to mind the all-enveloping throes of early romance, and the swelling saxophone fanfares of Josh Johnson feature “Discernment” emulate a powerful moment of self-acceptance. 

Further listening – explore our Jazz Harp Collection

Younger describes the record as one of her most honest, namely because it involved collaborating with her longtime trio of Rashaan Carter on bass and Alan Mednard on drums. “We’ve all spent the past two or three years on the road and so there’s a personal and musical familiarity when we come to record together,” she says. “Since Rashaan also produced the album and we decided to record it all at my home, it created a comfortable intimacy that kept us honest, since there was no one else there except for us.”

Rather than decamping to a studio for a race through the material – a process Younger labels as “one and done” – the act of recording “Gadabout Season” from the comfort of home meant that Younger and her band could take more time to experiment, consider and retake their music. “It produced spontaneous improvisations on tracks like “Reckoning” and “Discernment”, which came about entirely in the moment,” she says. “While on “End Means” I had the time to decide on using an extended technique on harp, which muffles the string like a kalimba. You hear those moments come through far more on this album than any others I’ve created.”

In addition to Younger’s tight-knit trio, the album also boasts a starry selection of features, including MacArthur Fellow and pianist Courtney Bryan, British jazz stalwart Shabaka, Meshell Ndegeocello bandmember Josh Johnson and regular collaborators Makaya McCraven and Joel Ross. “Everyone who featured on the record came through organically and it all fed into the overall theme of the album, which is playfulness,” Younger says. “The gadabout is someone who is looking for happiness and that’s something I’m always trying to do with my band, especially when we’re exhausted and on tour! Ultimately, this is an album about finding joy throughout the journey, which is something everyone can relate to.”

Indeed, listening through the emotional ups and downs of “Gadabout Season”, you can’t help but be left with an overarching feeling of joy. It’s an infectious sentiment, directed not only at Younger’s deft musicianship or at the lasting presence of Alice Coltrane’s harp, but at the freewheeling continuation of a storied jazz legacy. Long may it live on, in all its gadabout guises.

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Ammar Kalia is a writer and musician. He is the Guardian’s Global Music Critic and writes for the Observer, Downbeat, Jazzwise and others. His debut novel, A Person Is A Prayer, is out now.

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_{Header image: Brandee Younger. Photo: Erin Patrice O’Brien.}